Eaves vents



y 12, 1959 H. QHIRST 2,885,942

. EAVES VENTS Filed Nov. 1,1956

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United States Patent EAVES VENTS Harry Hirst, Riverside, Calif. Application November 1, 1956, SerialNo. 619,841 1 Claim. (Cl. 98-37) This invention relates generally to ventilation of the space between the ceiling and roof of buildings and more particularly to an improved ventilation device for use in the eaves spaces between the rafters and plates.

Throughout this description of my invention there will be many occasions to refer to ventilation devices and, in particular, to ventilation devices in caves. For the sake of simplicity, ventilation devices for use in caves will be called Eaves Vents throughout this application.

At present there are many eaves vents commercially available for use in buildings of all types; such vents are generally made in fixed sizes and usually comprise metal with a number of holes or openings of one type or another located therein. These metal devices are designed to be fastened in the spaces between rafters, plates and roofing. All of such devices have the common failure that they are produced in fixed sizes and because of the variations in building practices and variations in lumber sizes such vents do not properly fit into the spaces resulting from construction. This necessitates special fitting in and around such eaves vents.

Furthermore, it is frequently difficult for plasterers to make a neat plastering joint about the edges of prior eaves vents where the exterior of the building is being finished with stucco. The stucco has a tendency to fall away from the edge of the vent and thus cause increased cost and difliculty.

Another common fault of existing eaves vents is the difficulty and cost in making a good and firm connection between the vent and the under side of the roofing material.

Thus it is a primary object of my invention to provide an eaves vent which can be easily fit into any size opening between rafters, plates and roof along the caves of a building.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an eaves vent which can be used by plasterers to form a firm and desirable connection with stucco being applied to the exterior of a building.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide an eaves vent which can easily be fit into a solid connection with the under side of the roof.

I have accomplished the desired purposes for an eaves vent by forming perforated sheets of metal or other material into relatively long lengths and forming a shoulder and lip to cooperate with stucco thereon. In a preferred form of my invention, I have formed the perforations in such manner that upon cutting to size, or in the initial manufacture, a series of relatively sharp points will be provided along the upper edge that may be pressed into and held in contact with the roof.

By using my invention it is possible to obtain the eaves vent material in long lengths and cut it to fit the size of the openings in the building after frame construction is completed. The vent can then be placed in position by merely forcing the upper edge of the eaves vent with its pointed ends into the underside of the roofing or roof sheathing material and fastening it into position on the plate with two nails. The over hanging lip provides a perfect joint for stucco being applied thereunder and the holes therein provide an anchor for the upper edge of the stucco.

My invention and its functioning and purposes will be better understood by the attached drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a segment of a building roof;

Figure 2 is a sectionalized view of the segment of the roof taken through the plane 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectionalized segment of the same roof through the plane 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view of such a roof identical to Figure 3 except that the eaves vent which is my invention is shown in position in Figure 4 and is not shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a sectionalized view through the plane 5-5 of Figure 4 and with the addition of stucco outer wall covering;

Figure .6 is a side elevation of a segment of my invention removed from a building; and

Figure 7 is a sectionalized view of my invention through the plane 7-7 of Figure 6.

Referring in more detail to the drawings there is seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3 a segment of a customary type roof, in which the rafters 12 are supported on plates 13, in turn' and 3 the finish material for the walls is not shown.

Referring now to Figure 4 it will be seen that Figure 4 is the same view and with the same elements as Figure 3 except there has been added the eaves vent 20 which is my invention.

Figure 5 will be seen to be the same as Figure 2 except that the rafters 12 is shown to be cut olf even with the edge of the plate 13 (this because Figure 5 is a sectionalized view of Figure 4 which was in turn already partially sectionalized); and that there have been added my eaves vent 20 and the finish stucco 30.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7 it is seen that the eaves vent 20 of my invention comprises a generally L- shaped (in cross section) sheet having a plurality of perforations 21 and generally pointed top elements 22 with a shoulder portion 23 and lip 24. Nails 25 may be used to fasten the eaves vent. The perforations 21 in this preferred embodiment of my invention are diamond shaped. By cutting the material through the center of these diamond shaped perforations it is possible to form the series of upper points 22 on this material.

With particular reference to Figure 5 it will be seen that the points 22 can be pushed into the roof sheathing 15. The vent then extends down over the plate 13 and is fastened in position by two or more nails 25 driven through two of the existing vent holes in the material. The shoulder 23 with the lip 24 forms the proper upper edging and end point for the stucco 30. The stucco 30 extends into the holes 21 which are in the shoulder 23 and thus has a firm holding bond. The lip 24 provides a neat upper edge for the ending of the stucco and protects it from falling away of chipping at this point.

In use, the eaves vent 20 is supplied in any convenient length and height such as will be normally stamped from regular sheets of material. I have found that eight or ten foot lengths with perforations one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch in longest dimension with a height of five and onehalf inch; a shoulder seven-eighths of an inch wide and a lip one-eighth of an inch high are quite appropriate for use in buildings with two by six rafters. The height can be cut down to three and five-eighths inch for a house Patented May 12, less It will be. noticed that there is an unenclosed space 16 between the rafters 12, plate 13, and roof sheathing 15; this will be, particularly apparent in Figure 3. In all of Figures 1, 2

using two by four rafters. These are merely illustrations and it is to be deemed most desirable that the material be produced in lengths of approximately eight to ten feet. Various heights and lengths may be produced to meet any requirements.

I have found that aluminum of approximately 22 gauge is easy to use on a job and is most durable and easy to work with. However, it is quite obvious that the vents may be made of a number of difierent materials even including plastic materials.

It is also possible to produce this material in sections of shorter length, e.g. twelve inches in length with two sections fitted together so that they can slide with reference to one another and thus be adjustable in length to fit into the rafters. This modification, however, increases the production cost and it does not reduce the amount of time on a job.

I have illustrated and described a preferred form of the present invention in which the exact measurements, configurations, and relationships are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit my invention. While there are disclosed above but a limited number of embodiments of the invention herein presented it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes, substitutions, omissions and additions may be made, and that it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the inventive concept as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

An eaves vent for placement over the exterior surface of the space between rafters, wall plates, and roofing of a building structure comprising an elongated, semi-rigid sheet of metal having a plurality of perforations formed therein; a shoulder formed along one longitudinal edge of said sheet at right angles thereto; a lip formed along the longitudinal edge of said shoulder perpendicular thereto and extending from said shoulder in a direction opposite to the direction of the main body of said sheet of metal so as to form essentially a Z shape; said shoulder having a series of perforations provided therein to receive and accommodate plaster and hold the same in fixed relationship relative to said sheet; a series of obtuse angular points on the longitudinal edge of said sheet which does not have a shoulder upon it and provisions to cut said sheet to vary the width thereof to accommodate varying height in the space between rafters, wallplates and roofing in that of all said perforations in said sheet are positioned in rows parallel to said shoulder whereby said sheet may be cut through any row of perforations to form a vent of difierent widths with a number of obtuse angle points along the other, cut longitudinal edge of said sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 412,313 Weis et a1. Oct. 8, 1889 1,359,675 Davidson Nov. 23, 1920 1,433,606 Dyar Oct. 31, 1922 1,651,071 Scheppers Nov. 29, 1927 1,751,050 Nilsson Mar. 18, 1930 1,891,240 Pearce Dec. 20, 1932 1,908,166 Moore May 9, 1933 2,021,675 Tatum Nov. 19, 1935 2,406,559 Oakes Aug. 27, 1946 2,557,442 Kurilo June 19, 1951 2,676,554 Wenger Apr. 27, 1954 2,732,707 Reis Jan. 31, 1956 

